Filling Africa´s plates? - Social and Environmental Implications of large-scale irrigation-based Agriculture (Part 2)

Hey there, 

I´m back with my second blog post on large-scale farming.

Fig. 1: Large-scale irrigation schemes bare risk of negatively affecting the environment (Erasmus 2017)

Environmental implications

Large-scale farming projects and huge irrigation schemes clearly have impacts on the environment. Firstly, a lack of water regulation for contracted land results in rather inefficient irrigation schemes that may influence water availability for ecosystems (Johansson et.al. 2016). Additionally, when looking at the crops cultivated, it becomes clear that a high percentage of large-scale agriculture is water intensive and not necessarily suitable for the targeted region. However, these large-scale farms are often more profit-oriented and choose crops according to demand and market prices rather than because of its suitability (Johansson et.al. 2016).  So, although irrigation maximizes "agricultural productivity and reduce the risk of crop failure” (Johansson et.al. 2016: 11474), in regions that already experience water stress, it may still have a negative impact.  

Moreover, according to Im et.al. (2013) irrigation may have an important effect on regional climate. As a result of irrigation impact on soil moisture, rainfall patterns may change, reducing or increasing rain in certain locations (Im et.al. 2013). Furthermore, river regulation and the construction of large dams, which often goes along with the development of large-scale irrigation schemes, is similarly likely to affect the environment. For, example dams might limit the migration of fish, thereby influencing the diversity of wildlife (Nilsson and Berggren 2000). Additionally, they prevent flooding in downstream areas, thereby limiting the accumulation of fertile soil on the floodplains and making them more prone to erosion (Ruffeis et.al. 2008). This situation may be intensified, as during the impounding period of the dam downstream discharge of rivers is often reduced, causing the withdrawal of floodplains and wetlands (Nilsson and Berggren 2000). Furthermore, improper irrigation management, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, may lead to salinization, as “irrigation of soil of low permeability can cause the sometimes saline groundwater table to rise” (Nilssonand Berggren 2000: 788).     

Fig. 2: Katse Arch Dam (Lesotho) has environmental impact on the surrounding environment (Construction Review Online)

It is, however, important to note that the extent and impact of these processes is highly depended on the specific physical setting and may thus produce very different outcomes at different places.  Nevertheless, it can be suggested that large-scale irrigation has negative long-term effects on the environment and therefore it is necessary to develop long-term sustainable approaches to use water resources efficiently. 

Public-private Partnerships

It became apparent that large-scale farm projects may in the long-term not only cause irrecoverable environmental changes, but also harm local economies and despite its aims to alleviate poverty, might even enhance it. Thus, in the last decades public-private partnerships (ppp) have become more prominent as a means to integrate local communities in large-scale farming systems. PPPs are associated with “a contract between a public sector and private party (PPP Manual, South Africa 2004, citedin Dittoh et.al. 2010: 14). Typically, a private party invests in a project and takes the responsibility for the financial, technical and operational risk. 

In terms of irrigation schemes ppps aim to “provide the costs of expanding irrigation structures in exchange for land leases from local smallholders” (Chu 2013: 213) for a certain time frame. New irrigation structures are supposed to improve food security and incomes of smallholders. Therefore, farmers maintain a small patch of land of about 20% of their owned land for individual use and the remaining land is given to a private company for commercial use (Chu 2013). In return the private party develops and maintains the irrigation network and the surrounding infrastructure. Thus, ppps enable local communities to improve their crop yields with relatively low costs, including technologies that they couldn´t afford otherwise. 

However, smallholders retain only a small percentage of their former land and it is not always clear that access to irrigation naturally leads to higher crop yields, as it may also be influenced by e.g. climatic conditions (Chu 2013). Additionally, even if farmers may improve their incomes by dividends from the commercial farming project or labour on these farms, this may fail to provide a stable income (Chu 2013). Moreover, it is assumed that smallholders hold the titles for their properties, which is not common in SSA, as land tenure is often still based on colonial patterns (Chu 2013). Thus, the suitability of this approach clearly depends on the physical setting as well as its political and cultural context. Dittoh et.al. (2019) suggest that in SSA ppp projects require the implementation of private-public(informal)-private(formal) partnerships that include the government, smallholders (informal) and a formal private sector. 

Fig. 3: Fadama Project in Nigeria involves Private-Public Partnerships (Daily Times)

Concluding Remarks

It remains to be seen whether public-private partnership will accomplish stabilization of smallholder livelihoods in the long-term and will create positive effects on food security. Nevertheless, the example of ppps has shown that the success of irrigation schemes depends on the context in which it is implemented. Therefore, one can suggest considering its environmental and social implications that large-scale farming is clearly not always the most appropriate solution, but depending on the setting it may be suitable. Thus, it is necessary to always consider the appropriateness of the scale. Additionally, successful implementation of irrigation schemes cannot be based exclusively on top-down strategies, but have to include the needs of local communities and at the same time involve actors from many different sectors.